Iran

Tehran has cast doubt on the Belgian government’s seriousness in fighting terrorism after the ringleader of the terrorist cult Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) was given a platform to deliver an anti-Iran speech in the Western European country.

“Given serious crimes and assassinations committed by the MKO terrorist group against Iranian people and their deceitful nature, acknowledged by institutions like the European Parliament, how can the Belgian government, claiming to fight terror, give tribune to the leader of the sect on its soil?” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani wrote in a post published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.

This file photo shows families of victims of terror at a national conference held in Tehran to commemorate 17,000 Iranian martyrs of terrorist attacks. (By IRNA)

The post came on the same day MKO leader Maryam Rajavi addressed a group of demonstrators in the Belgian capital of Brussels on the occasion of foreign-backed riots in Iran that broke out last September, when 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in a hospital in the capital Tehran, three days after she collapsed at a police station.

Last week, the Branch 1 of Tehran’s criminal court announced that 104 fugitive members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) terrorist group must introduce their attorneys to the court to represent the cases of their clients.

The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.

The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization.”

In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.

Last week, the Branch 1 of Tehran’s criminal court announced that 104 fugitive members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) terrorist group must introduce their attorneys to the court to represent the cases of their clients.

The historic judiciary statement noted that the named individuals would have one month to introduce their lawyers to the court, otherwise, the necessary decision would be taken in accordance with the law of the land.

Among the individuals named were Masoud Rajavi and Maryam Qajar Azedanlou (Rajavi), the ringleaders of the MKO terrorist cult, and Mehdi Abrishamchi, their right-hand man.

Earlier on June 21, Mohammad Dehqan, Iran’s vice president for legal affairs, announced that a series of measures have been taken to extradite MKO terror cult members, most of whom are currently based in Western countries.

Five days later, deputy chief of Iran’s judiciary (international affairs) Kazem Gharibabadi stated that legal measures have been initiated in various European countries against MKO members, criticizing the unnamed European nations for not properly pursuing Iran’s complaints.

Interestingly, days after the announcement, Albania banned the cult leader from entering the country, pointing to the beginning of the end of the cult’s Albania stint.

What are MKO terror cult crimes

The horrendous crimes committed by the MKO terror cult are well documented and include terrorist attacks, sabotage of civilian infrastructure, participation in military aggression, and complicity in Baathist Iraq’s genocide of the Kurds.

In Iran alone, 17,161 victims of their terrorist actions have been documented, among them President Mohammad Ali Rajaee, Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, as well as several lawmakers, ministers and scholars.

After failing to seize power and losing their socio-political base in Iran, the terror cult sought refuge in Baathist Iraq and participated in Saddam Hussein’s aggression against Iran, which was overtly backed by the West.

Post-Baathist Iraq acknowledged the former regime’s aggression against the Islamic Republic and Iraqi Kurds, convicted and punished many of those responsible, but none of the MKO members have so far been held accountable for their crimes, in Iraq or Western countries.

In only the 1988 operation against Iran, the terrorist group’s crimes included aggression and violation of UN resolutions, chemical attacks on Iranian villages with hundreds of victims, urbicide (city-killing) of Iranian cities and towns, and massacres of medics, voluntary helpers and others.

During the war and the subsequent Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussain’s regime, MKO directly participated in genocidal campaigns against the Kurdish population, with over 4,000 victims in the vicinity of Kirkuk alone.

Testimonies from former MKO members confirm that Rajavis and senior MKO officers personally ordered the brutal massacre of Kurdish civilians, claiming that members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) were hiding in Kurdish traditional clothing, which was a blatant lie.

The same testimonies say many MKO members were horrified by the massacres but were not in a position to oppose their leaders because they would have risked their lives.

Experts believe that by brutalizing the Iraqi Kurds, the Rajavis desperately wanted to prove themselves useful to the Iraqi dictator, without whose support they would have been without the only base available at the time.

Iran’s experiences with extradition from West

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution until today, Iran has had multiple negative experiences with Western countries regarding the extradition of those accused of serious crimes against the Iranian nation.

The most famous case is a request to Washington to extradite deposed dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and return billions that he and his family stole from Iran and stacked in Western banks.

Although there is consensus among all Western historians that he ordered numerous atrocities against ordinary Iranians, the US government stubbornly refused to extradite him, as well as other regime officials, which only added to tensions between the two sides.

Another notable case is the request to Canada to extradite Mahmoud Reza Khavari, the former Melli Bank chairman who was accused of large-scale corruption and embezzlement of at least three billion dollars.

Since 2010, Khavari has been living as a Canadian citizen and his family runs a wealthy business empire in the country. Ottawa has always dismissed Tehran’s extradition requests.

In 2017, an Iranian court sentenced him to 20 years in prison and an international Interpol warrant was issued against him, but Canada refused to cooperate for political reasons.

The Western self-righteousness and flawed belief in the correctness of their judiciary, as well as the distorted understanding of the Iranian legal system, have often threatened the lives of their own citizens.

An example of this is Man Haron Monis, who received refugee status in Australia in 1996, then a political asylum, because Canberra accepted his fake story that he was persecuted in Iran because of his liberal interpretation of Islam.

Iran sought his extradition for years and warned Australian authorities that Monis was a criminal with a long history of fraud and violence, but they refused to pay heed.

Eighteen years later, Monis besieged the Lindt Cafe in Sydney, took ten customers and eight employees hostage, killed two, and was eventually killed in a police raid. The “liberal asylum seeker” was then dubbed a “Takfiri terrorist.”

Furthermore, Iranian diplomatic missions in Western countries have often experienced unsavory incidents involving violence, and the perpetrators most often have been individuals who were granted political asylum based on false stories.

How has Iran treated MKO penitents

Contrary to the unfounded claims that Iran imposes collective guilt on all MKO terror cult members for crimes and that they are therefore threatened with death or other severe punishments, actual case stories present a completely different picture.

Iran’s judiciary recognizes that many MKO members were misled, deceived or lured into the terrorist cult with threats, intimidation and coercion.

In tens of recorded cases, MKO penitents renounced cult membership, agreed to return to Iran, voluntarily participated in police and court sessions, and were eventually released, reunited with their families, and today live freely.

This defection process has been underway for years and has intensified in recent years as most of the members are aging and approaching death. They have finally woken up to the failed ideology of the terror cult and its false promises, and are desperate to reunite with their families.

According to the testimonies of former MKO members, they were not allowed private communication with their families and any contact would be attempted under strict control, to recruit relatives or ask for donations.

Due to these conditions, which befit a concentration camp, many MKO members did not see or hear from their closest family members, relatives or friends for decades.

The latest offer by the Iranian judiciary to more than a hundred MKO members to present their defense, even in absentia through a lawyer, allows them to embrace the truth.

By Ivan Kesic

Iran has summoned Italy’s Ambassador to Tehran Giuseppe Perrone in a show of strong protest over the Italian parliament’s decision to host the ringleader of the anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Western Europe Majid Nili Ahmad-Abadi called on Italy to respect its international obligations in the “fight against terrorism.”

Tehran criticized the meeting between some Italian legislators and Maryam Rajavi, describing it as a “clear example of promoting and encouraging terrorism.”

“The Islamic Republic does not tolerate support for terrorism in any shape by anyone and categorically censures it,” the Iranian diplomat said.

The Foreign Ministry said Iran respects the national sovereignty of other countries, and recognizes protection of freedom of expression and behavior within the framework of law. “All governance mechanisms of the civilized world seek punishment for terrorists as allowing terrorists to act freely translates into destruction of law and freedom of law-abiding people.”

The turn of events in recent weeks, from Albania to France, bear testimony to what was clear from the beginning – the multi-billion dollar investments in the MKO terror cult have been an exercise in futility. The cult is dead but not yet buried.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry official underscored the Iranian nation’s hatred of the MKO. “Doubtless any move by anyone in anywhere in support of terrorism is condemned. The Islamic Republic of Iran urges the Italian government to demonstrate its seriousness in preventing the country from turning into a safe haven for terrorists.”

“Support for terrorism will not guarantee the interests of Italy in benefiting from constructive ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will instead severely tarnish the country’s image in the eyes of the public opinion.”

Rajavi was reportedly invited by the Italian Parliament to participate in a hearing session of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.

On June 20, Albanian police forces entered the MKO camp, known as Ashraf-3, near Tirana due to its engagement in “terror and cyberattacks” against foreign institutions. Authorities seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp. More than a week later, the police entered the camp again and security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp to control all vehicles leaving the site.

The Albanian prime minister says the MKO group must leave Tirana if it wants to use the country

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama later said the MKO must leave the country if it wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran, adding that his country has no intention of being at war with Iran and “does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality.”

The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization.”

In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.